2016-17 NFL Playoffs
The 2016-17 NFL Playoffs were the playoffs of the 2016-17 NFL season. The playoffs started with the wildcard round and ended with Super Bowl 51 in NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. Standings These were the playoff Standings at the end of the 2016-17 NFL Season. Teams in Bold 'won the division. Teams in ''italics got a wildcard. Teams in ''Bold and Italics''''' got a bye week. AFC Conference The New England Patriots, despite losing Tom Brady to suspension for the first 4 games of the season, finish on top of the weak AFC with a 12-4 Record, beating out the 2nd Seeded Cincinnati Bengals by 1 game. The Bengals were neck and neck with the Pittsburgh Steelers for the AFC North title until the final game, beating Pittsburgh after a win over Baltimore via tiebreaker. The Steelers became the 5 seed of the AFC Playoffs at 11-5. New Playoff Teams, The Raiders and Jaguars, win there respective divisions. Oakland wins the west by 2 games, Jacksonville beating out Indianapolis for the AFC South title via tiebreaker. The Colts became the 6 seed at 9-7, beating out 4 other AFC teams by just one game. NFC Conference The NFC was much stronger than in previous years, with 3 teams either tying of beating the record of the top AFC Team, the New England Patriots. The Panthers fought for the top seed until the last week, reaching 14-2 and a one game advantage for the top seed. The Green Bay Packers, led by a healthy Jordy Nelson, rebounded from losing the NFC North the previous year to the Minnesota Vikings, and reaching 13 wins, enough to get a bye week. The Cardinals fell just short of a bye week, but nonetheless won the NFC West at 12-4, in a season that Carson Palmer announced would be his last season. Despite an early season injury to Tony Romo and a brief injury to Dak Prescott which forced 3rd string Ja'meel Showers to start 2 games, Prescott performed solid enough in Romo's absence to return Dallas to the Playoffs at 10-6. The Seattle Seahawks were long-shots to win the West by week 14, but performed solid enough in the closing stretch to reach 10-6 and reach the 5th seed in the playoffs. Despite Missing Teddy Bridgewater, the Vikings reach the playoffs off of staunch Defensive Play and a 1,800 yard rushing season from Running back Adrian Peterson, and make the playoffs at 9-7, beating out the Philadelphia Eagles for the 6 seed via tiebreaker. Wild Card Round Pittsburgh Steelers (5) at Jacksonville Jaguars (4) In the Jaguars first playoff game since 2007, the 9-7 Jaguars played AFC North Runner up, the 11-5 Pittsburgh Steelers. Ben Roethlisberger threw a early Interception to Jaguars Defensive Back Jalen Ramsey, who returned the interception 89 yards for a touchdown to give the Jaguars a early 7-0 lead. The Steelers closed the Jags lead to 4 in the 2nd with a 39 yard field goal, the Jaguars getting a 7-3 lead at halftime. The Steelers made a comeback in the 3rd quarter with a rushing touchdown to Le'Veon Bell, and a 50-yard field goal, giving the Steelers a 3 point lead going into the fourth quarter, 13-10. Big Ben struck midway through the 4th quarter, taking a 20-10 lead after a 49-yard touchdown pass to receiver Martavis Bryant. The Jags struck with a passing Touchdown to Allen Hurns late, pulling the Jaguars within 3 points. The Jaguars attempted a onside, which was recovered by Pittsburgh with 2:46 left on the clock. Roethlisberger would eventually dispatch another touchdown to Antonio Brown, taking a 27-17 lead. The Jaguars attempted to drive down the field and score, but were intercepted by Steelers linebacker James Harrison with 58 seconds left, thus securing the Steelers playoff win, 27-17. They would move on to play AFC North Winner, The 11-5 Cincinnati Bengals, in the Divisional round. Indianapolis Colts (6) at Oakland Raiders (3) In the 10-6 Raiders first playoff appearance in 15 years, they had a home game against the 9-7 AFC South Runner Ups, the Indianapolis Colts. The Colts got off to a quick start, with a pick-six from Mike Adams less than a minute in to take the early 7-0 lead. Andrew Luck passed a 37 yard touchdown to Dwayne Allen on his first offensive drive to take a 2 touchdown lead. Derek Carr responds with his first playoff touchdown, a 66 yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper. The First Quarter would end with the Colts holding a 17-7 lead. The Raiders defense tightened up in the 2nd quarter, with a pick six from Cornerback Sean Smith being the only touchdown of the 2nd quarter. The Colts put on two field goals before half, with the Raiders putting in a last-second 48-yard field goal, resulting in a Colts 23-17 halftime lead. The Colts d tightened in the 2nd half, but the Raiders Defense played better, shutting out the Colts in the 2nd half. The Raiders compiled 2 field goals, the first one a 33-yarder in the 3rd quarter. Derek Carr needed to engineer a drive late in the 4th with the Raiders down 23-20 with 1:57 left. He got the team into field goal range on the last play of offense after a 35-yard reception from Amari Cooper. Sebastian Janikowski hit the 58-yard field goal to send the game to overtime as time expired. On the first play of overtime, Luck threw a 82 yard Touchdown pass to TY Hilton, ending the game in a Colts Victory. They would go on to play AFC top seed, the 12-4 New England Patriots, in the 2nd round. Minnesota Vikings (6) at Arizona Cardinals (3) In a Surprise return to the playoffs, despite losing Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford's Minnesota Vikings took on the NFC West Champion Arizona Cardinals. The low-scoring game only managed one field goal in the first, a 55-yarder for Arizona, taking a 3-0 lead. The Vikings brought the game to 3-2 after Everson Griffin tackled Carson Palmer in the end zone for a safety. Arizona scored a touchdown, a 11 yard pass from Carson Palmer to Larry Fitzgerald, but the extra point was missed, giving the Cardinals a 9-2 halftime lead. Minnesota scored 2 field goals in the 3rd quarter to pull within one, when the Cardinals kicked a 42-yarder to make it a 12-8 Cardinals game going into the fourth. The Vikings had gotten to first and goal on the 9-yard line with 51 seconds left when Arizona safety Tyrann Mathieu picked off Sam Bradford to secure a Arizona win. The Cardinals would move on to play the 13-3 Green Bay Packers in the divisional. Seattle Seahawks (5) at Dallas Cowboys (4) In the Dallas Cowboys' first appearance since 2014, the Dallas Cowboys played a home game against the Seattle Seahawks. In his opening drive, Tony Romo engineered a drive that resulted in a 3-yard rushing touchdown from Ezeikel Elliott to take a 7-0 lead. The Seahawks responded with a 45 yard touchdown pass from Russell Wilson to receiver Jermaine Kearse, tying the game at 7-7. The first quarter would end with a 10-10 score. The Cowboys struck a field goal to open up the 2nd quarter, but Tony Romo injured his back on the drive. The injury was later announced to be career ending. Dak Prescott was picked off by Kam Chancellor for a pick 6 late in the 2nd Quarter, allowing Seattle to take a 17-13 lead at Halftime. Dallas rebounded in the 3rd quarter by gaining 3 points on Seattle, each scoring 2 touchdowns a piece, and Dallas kicking a 56-yard field goal to pull within one of Seattle. Seattle had a 41-37 lead over Dallas with 59 seconds left, when Cowboys Quarterback Dak Prescott threw a touchdown pass caught on Dez Bryant's helmet for a 22 yard touchdown to take a 44-41 lead. Seattle attempted a last second hail mary. The Play was originally ruled as a Touchdown by Jermaine Kearse, however farther review concluded that it was not a catch, and Dallas won by 3 points. They moved onto the Divisional round to take on top seed Carolina. Divisional Round Pittsburgh Steelers (5) at Cincinnati Bengals (2) Category:Hypothetical Events Category:Hypothetical Sports Category:Sports Category:Football Category:Events in the 2010s